Ebony Blade (Skyrim)
The Ebony Blade Is a Two-Handed weapon in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is a Daedric Artifact. Locations The Ebony Blade can be obtained from the quest "The Whispering Door." The Dragonborn will find the Ebony Blade behind the Whispering door in the basement of Dragonsreach. Characteristics This weapon comes with a 10 point life leech which can be upgraded by slaying friendly NPCs, such as someone won over during a quest, a companion, or a trusted ally. For every two such characters killed, Mephala comments on the player's progress, and the weapon increases in power, adding to the strength of the life leech effect up to the maximum of 30 points after ten kills. Contrary to its physical appearance and the fact that it is wielded in two hands, the Ebony Blade is considered a one-handed sword by the game. As such, this weapon benefits from enchantments and perks that normally benefit one-handed swords in a quantitatve way relating to attacks, such as those that provide bonus damage and critical chance. Data follows a one-handed template, as can be seen in the Blade's damage, weight, impact force, stamina usage, weapon reach, sound files, and swing speed. Despite this, the Ebony Blade gets its damage from the two-handed skill and it is enhanced by certain two-handed perks, specifically those that alter the way a two-hander is wielded such as adding power attack types and decapitation chance.http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/517306-skyrim-bug-writeup Because the Ebony Blade still raises the two-handed skill, the above mismatches can benefit players with a deep one-handed perk tree that desire to raise their two-handed weapon prowess. The weapon allows for such a character to train the two-handed weapon skill without sacrificing damage or swapping out enchantments. However, the inverse is also true: characters focused into the two-handed perk tree will sacrifice many benefits when using the Ebony Blade. It cannot be improved via smithing, due to a lack of an upgrade entry. Its life leech enchant is not limited by charges; it has an unlimited charge. Background The Ebony Blade, sometimes called the Vampire or the Leech, resembles an ebony katana, and its power is very dark indeed. Every time the Ebony Blade strikes an opponent, part of the damage inflicted flows into the wielder as raw power. The Blade itself may not be any more evil than those who have used it, but at some point in its history, a charm was cast on it so it would not remain with any one bladesman for long. The wizard who cast this charm sought to save the souls of any too infatuated by the Blade, and perhaps he was right to do so. The blade has been recorded in Tamriel's history since at least the Third Age. It is believed that the Eternal Champion once wielded the artifact. Sometime after the War of Betony, the Ebony blade was rewarded to the Hero of Daggerfall. It is said that the Hero of Kvatch wielded this artifact during the Oblivion Crisis. The Dragonborn supposedly used this blade during Skyrim's civil war in the Fourth Age. It is believed that each of these heroes all wielded the very same blade, though nothing is told of how each came to lose it in turn. Bugs *When trying to place the Ebony Blade on a weapon rack or weapon plaque, it "falls off" immediately. After this, the same happens to any other "greatsword," such as a Dwarven Greatsword or a Glass Greatsword. Exiting the area does not seem to fix this either. The only fix appears to be loading a previous save. (As of the latest patch Ebony Blade can be placed on plaques and racks and will remain there until you leave the area. Upon returning it will have fallen off much like the Skull of Corruption. If placed in a large display case, the weapon seems to attempt to escape, and can often be seen sticking halfway out of the case if you leave the area and return later, looking as if someone impaled the case with the blade. (Tested on XBOX 360, PS3) (The blade does stay on weapon plaques and in display cases, tested Hjerim, PS3 with launch patch) *The Ebony Blade, though wielded in two hands, has many data values of a one-handed weapon, including damage, weight, sound files, attack speed, quantitative (damage done, power attack cost) perk benefits, impact force, and stamina usage. ** The latest patch seems to have fixed this bug on 360. *Shortly after aquiring the Ebony Blade, the Two Handed skill may appear to reset to Level 15. To fix this, either rank up the skill, or find someone to train you on two handed weapons. This should fix it and put it to the original skill present prior to getting the Ebony Blade. NOTE: Your correct/current skill is visible by selecting the skill to see the skill brances. The bug makes it appear as if the skill is Level 15. Two handed weapons are weaker, but the perks may still be active. (Tested once on Xbox 360. Only occured with Ebony Blade, patch pending.) *Every Daedric Artifact weapon has the required ebony for upgrading via smithing, except the Ebony Blade. Notes *The infinite drain charges are nice, but I don't recommend using this blade at any level past 20 or 25, because the infinite drain isn't worth the lower damage and the slow 2-handed attacks, and the damage will -definitely- be lacking compared to a 2-hand weapon.* *Many friendly NPCs can be denoted by their positive attitude towards the player. Many of these NPCs speak lines such as "It's a fine day with you around," or "My favorite drinking buddy!" which indicate a high standing with that particular person. These NPCs count towards upgrading the Blade. **On the PC version, the console can be used to check any NPCs relationship level with the player. Selecting an NPC in the console and entering "getrelationshiprank" returns that NPC's current rank. A value of "friend", "ally", "lover", or a rank 2 or higher meets the requirements to contribute towards upgrading the Ebony Blade. *Quests for other Daedra often provide opportunities to upgrade the Ebony Blade. Boethiah's Proving, Pieces of the Past, and Ill Met By Moonlight all feature such opportunities. Killing Deeja and Jaree-Ra during the Lights Out! quest also counts toward upgrading the Ebony Blade. *NPCs raised with Dead Thrall can count towards upgrading the Ebony Blade multiple times. This allows players with high conjuration to fully empower the Blade with only a single friendly NPC. **The Ritual stone also works with the above mentioned exploit. *The Ebony Blade's behavior mimicks that of Stormbringer, the sword featured in the Elric saga, although it shares its name with Marvel Comics' Black Knight's weapon. *On the ps3(and probably for all other consoles) it is possible to upgrade the Ebony Blade throught he Dark Brotherhood questline. I personally went through it all using the Ebony Blade, so it seems that all your targets(regardless if you have talked to them before or not) are friendly towards you. *While the damage sucks and it's un-upgradable, the blade is the fastest 2-handed weapon in the game. *One of Mephala's comments when upgrading the sword may include "The blade is getting shinier." While ingame the sword's appearance doesn't actually change, though she says this. *It can be useful for training on immortal NPCs as it both heals you and takes their health. External links *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NknW4c_qPnU - How to get the Ebony Blade References ru:Эбонитовый Клинок (Skyrim) Category:Weapons Category:Skyrim: Weapons Category:Skyrim: Daedric Artifacts Category:Skyrim: Unique Weapons Category:Unique Weapons Category:Weapons Category:Skyrim: Weapons Category:Skyrim: Daedric Artifacts Category:Skyrim: Unique Weapons Category:Unique Weapons